15 Client Red Flags: Don’t Do/Say THIS to Service Providers

When I started out as a freelance copywriter, I didn’t even know what client red flags were. Some prospects were virtually waving them right in front of me through their emails and comments, and yet I would ignore them like a naive teenager thinking “i CaN fIx ThEm.”

Now, I know (a little) better. 

And here’s the thing: client red flags are highly subjective. Something that doesn’t work for me might be fine for someone else.

However, after talking about it with some fellow service providers, I realised there are a few that seem to be universal or, at least, extremely popular amongst the freelance squad.

Grab pen and paper.

15 client red flags that make freelancers want to run away from you

If you’re considering hiring a freelancer, please, please, PLEASE avoid saying or doing the following things. 

I actually have a crafty tip later down the article to help you do that even with client red flags that aren’t included in this list.

(And, if you’re a fellow freelancer, please, please, PLEASE start recognising them early on.)

1. “Can I get a free sample?”

“Sure. I’ll use that to pay my bills this month.”

… NOT!

Free samples can’t pay my rent. They also require valuable time and energy I could reserve for my paying clients (or, you know, to do ANYTHING else).

If you want to get a feel of someone’s work before you hire them, that’s totally fair. Go on, and check their portfolio and case studies.

But don’t be the kind of client who expects them to work for free.

2. “I need this done yesterday, LOL” 

As Dr Richard Diston (The Real Security Doctor) said: “I need payment the day before yesterday, in that case.”

This is a BIG client red flag because it shows your company has poor planning and expects freelancers to bend over backwards to make up for it.

If something’s a priority, please contact us as soon as possible. Don’t wait until the last minute and then try and put pressure on us.

We have other deadlines in our diary and can only work so many hours a day.

3. Not following or respecting a freelancer’s process or boundaries

Now, this is one of those client red flags that can look completely different depending on who you speak to, because… well, we all have different boundaries and systems!

“But Giada, how can I be expected to know about them, then?”

Well, that’s why communication is key. Read the materials we send you, and respect what we ask you to do.

For example, some red flags for me are:

• “Can we just jump on Zoom to talk about it?” whilst I’m asking you a couple of written questions to figure out if this is even something I can help with (plus, I charge for initial consultations)

• Expecting additional meetings to be free

• Calling me out of the blue 

• Sending an email at 7 pm on a Friday and then emailing me on Sunday morning asking if I received it (even when you can clearly see in my email signature that my working hours are 9-5, Monday to Friday)

4. “I just need a quote. Can you provide it?”

A client red flag for freelance writer Sean Kivi (and many, many freelancers) is when “a client fails to give the details of a job but expects a quote out of thin air.”

Here’s why that’s a problem: because we can’t quote for a project we know nothing (or not enough) about.

Most freelancers price per project, not per hour. We’re not employees!

Don’t get me wrong: I know budget is important and you need a general idea before talking to us or paying for a consultation. But that’s exactly why most freelancers have some pricing starting points for their services. 

5. Negotiating rates or asking for a cheeky (=disrespectful) discount

MASSIVE client red flag as it shows you don’t value our work.

I’ve fallen for this one before (never again, thanks), and that meant having to work just as hard… for less money. How is that fair?

Some popular variations of this red flag are:

• “Can you give us a cheaper rate? There’s loads more work in the pipeline”

• “What is your BEST price?”

6. Refusing to sign a contract and pay upfront

That immediately prompts a question: what have you got to hide?

If the answer is “nothing” and you’re NOT planning on ghosting us after receiving your project, then signing a contract (and paying a deposit or the entire amount depending on the sum) shouldn’t be a problem.

Freelancers have costs and commitments. We can’t be expected to work for free and wait months for a payment that may or may not come.

7. “It’s not that much work” or “I just need a quick polish” 

“When a client is looking for web copy because they’re repositioning or because their old copy isn’t converting and tells me this, I cringe. Usually, I’ve already seen the website and know we need a total overhaul from the ground up, which obviously includes voice of customer and competitive analysis, among other things. There’s nothing ‘not much’ or ‘just a quick’ anything about that work!” Elle Rosselli, Clear Copy Works

The main client red flag here is that you’re basically telling us how long it should take us to do OUR job.

And guess what? It’s usually longer than you think.

But, either way, it doesn’t matter because we’ve already established that most of us price per project.

To put this into perspective: an IT technician doesn’t charge less just because all they did was press a button. The reason why they knew what button to press (and you didn’t) is that they’ve spent years training and investing money in their learning and development to be able to do that so quickly. 

That’s basically what they’re charging you for. That, and the final result. Not those 15 minutes.

8. Expecting constant availability and micromanaging

News flash: freelancers are NOT your employees.

You don’t hire us to work for you in the traditional sense. We’re here to offer you a service. 

So, we can’t be expected to be available 24/7, pick up the phone when you call out of the blue, send you additional stuff via email (for free), and report to you as an employee does.

9. “Below the radar assignments”

“‘Would you just take a look at _____?”
“_____ will give you an idea of what we want.”

“Could you help us with _____?”

“What do you think of _____?”

They basically want you to do a shi*load of work and tell them where they’re going wrong.” Jon McCulloch, The Evil Bald Genius

Once again, this red flag is about clients (or prospects) not respecting our time and expecting us to work for free.

And in most cases? They end up taking our advice or free audit and using it to work with someone else (=someone cheaper).

Not cool, now, is it?

(By the way, I HIGHLY recommend Jon’s book, The Well Fed Freelancer, to any service provider struggling to enforce boundaries.)

10. Complaining about previous freelancers

“I’d definitely say it’s a red flag if a potential client continually complains about every previous freelancer they’ve worked with — if they take some responsibility or acknowledge their role in it then that’s fine, but if they’re saying that every other freelancer they’ve worked with is basically a scam artist then RUN🏃🏼‍♀️” Grace Hall, copywriter and founder of Crying Over Copy

Yep. 

Don’t get us wrong: it can happen to be unlucky and have a bad experience with a freelancer. 

However, if it keeps happening, spoiler alert: YOU are the common denominator.

I’ve once worked with someone who, as soon as we started a call, told me, “You’re the 5th copywriter I try to work with for this project.”

They turned out to be a nightmare.

11. Expecting us to send a CV or fill out an application form

Once again, we’re freelancers. NOT employees.

You’re investing in one of our services. NOT offering us a job.

As such, you shouldn’t expect a CV. Seriously: I haven’t had one in years.

My CV is my website, my portfolio, my case studies, my client testimonials, my LinkedIn profile, the results I’ve achieved for previous clients, and so on.

You don’t need to know I had a marketing job in 2018 (well, now you do, anyway) when hiring me to write your website copy.

12. “I know exactly how it should look.”

“This is probably the biggest red flag because a client won't let me do the job I was hired for. In my humble opinion, a client that's an ‘expert’ outside of their own field of activity is simply a control freak that will ruin the outcome of a project.” Gabe Marusca, founder & web designer at Digital Finest

Let’s get real, now:

• You’re hiring a professional

• You’re paying them to do a job

• Why on earth would you tell them how to do it?

Do you tell your plumber how to fix a pipe? Or your gardener how to trim a hedge?

I genuinely hope not.

13. Radio silence

“When a client sends you a job, you deliver, then you hear nothing (even though they pay you). Then they get in touch for something else, and the same thing happens. I call them the ‘wham, bam, thank you ma’am’ clients.” Gabriella Sterio, copywriter, editor, and proofreader

This only happened to me once (so far).

They paid me, took my copy, butchered it when they uploaded it onto their website, and disappeared. POOF.

When they came back, they turned out to be an absolute nightmare because… well, plot twist (not really): they didn’t value communication and never answered my emails. 

Duh.

14. “I could do it myself, I just don't have time for it.”

“I do have clients that are actually legit great writers. Some still write some of their content. Some used to. But none of them brag about it. ‘I could do it myself’ generally means they could NEVER do it but don't want to pay you!” Kat Gál, health writer, freelance writing mentor, and creator of the No Hustle Freelance Writer course

Yes. Or it can also mean they genuinely think they can and therefore don’t understand the value of what we do (and aren’t prepared to pay for it accordingly).

For example, just because someone “was good at English” and can write well, it doesn’t mean they can write copy that converts into sales. That’s a totally different skillset. 

15. Changing the scope of the project

“Agreeing to proceed on a project and emailing back ‘oh, can you JUST add this’ and a) expecting it to be done, and b) not expecting it to cost anything extra. Red flag as they won't value your time and will just expect more and more. I learned the hard way early on being a people pleaser! It comes back to bite you!” Joanne Gardiner, content writer & creative VA

A freelancer’s business isn’t an all-you-can-eat. Just because we’ve agreed to a specific project, it doesn’t mean you can get additional stuff out of us without paying for it.

And, by now, we might not even have the availability for it.

How to avoid being a giant walking red flag as a prospect

As promised, here’s a simple trick you can use when approaching a freelancer:

Ask yourself, “would I ask/do/expect the same from a private doctor? Or the CEO of a multinational company?” If the answer is no, then you shouldn’t ask/do/expect the same from a freelancer.

For example, I bet you wouldn’t ask a doctor to perform a small surgery for free before booking a bigger one. You wouldn’t expect them to give you an in-depth consultation for free. You wouldn’t tell them how to do their job, now, would you?

And I’m pretty sure you wouldn’t call the CEO of a multinational company out of the blue. Or email them after a day because they didn’t reply to your Saturday morning message.

At the end of the day, freelancers are professional business owners. Treat us as such, and our collaboration will be oh-so-magical! Pinky promise. 

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11 Business New Year’s Resolutions for Female Entrepreneurs

Whether or not you enjoy making personal new year’s resolutions is absolutely up to you. 

Some people prefer setting themselves specific goals, some others find it stressful and counterproductive.

Hey, you do you!

However, when it comes to your badass female-founded brand, business new year’s resolutions can make all the difference.

Screw unrealistic diets and all the new-year-new-me crap! 

Let’s focus on actionable business goals that you can implement this year to grow your brand, increase your income, and simplify your working day.

1. Stop trying to please everyone: define your target audience

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again (louder for the people in the back):

When you try to appeal to everyone, you appeal to no one.

It’s an easy mistake as a business owner because you might be worried that fine-tuning your offer and marketing strategy will cause you to miss out on sales from other people.

Well, I beg to differ! It’s actually the opposite.

It’s much easier to concentrate on selling to the right person than to waste time and money with a random group of people that aren’t even interested in what you do.

Most importantly, your products or services should clearly solve someone’s problem. How can you do that if you don’t know who you’re selling to?

Start the new year by identifying your target customers and consider creating some buyers’ personas to keep them in mind more easily.

2. Create a strong(er) brand

Coca Cola, Nike, that little hipster café in town… Whether you like them or not, you can’t argue against the fact that they’re all strong brands.

It doesn’t matter if you’re a woman solopreneur selling services or a female-founded company shipping products:

for people to remember you and appreciate you, you must build a recognisable and memorable brand.

To accomplish this business new year’s resolution:

• Remind yourself how you can help your target audience and make it crystal clear to them;

• Revisit your website and logo: is the branding consistent, from colors to fonts and tone of voice?

• What are your ethos? Why did you decide to do what you do? What is your business mission?

• Create a brand story;

• As well as your business website, is your branding consistent across all of your social media platforms, too?

And as for the last point...

3. Be social (on the right platforms)

You really can’t afford to miss out on social media anymore.

If you aren’t on any of them, find out on what platforms your target audience is most active and get on them RIGHT NOW.

If you already are but it’s not going well:

• Stop seeing social media as a place to brag about your company’s accomplishments;

• Instead, create an audience-oriented strategy that brings them value;

• Remember the 80:20 rule: only 20% of what you post should be a direct promotion. The rest? Relevant content to educate and entertain your audience;

• Post consistently and interact with your followers.

4. Switch from a newsletter to an audience-oriented email marketing strategy

If you haven’t got a subscribers’ list, this could be the year where you finally create one.

If you do but it’s an old-style newsletter with boring updates about your company, you might want to reconsider your strategy.

After all, be honest: do you (personally) enjoy receiving spam from tons of companies telling you all about themselves?

If you want to stand out, one of the best business new year’s resolutions is to turn your newsletter into an audience-oriented marketing strategy.

Sure, you can still send the occasional promotion, but you want to focus on bringing value to your target audience just like you do with your other content.

5. Remember the importance of work-life balance

This is vital both for solopreneurs and small businesses with employees: 

a burned-out mind isn’t a productive mind!

• If you work on your own, remind yourself why you decided to start your own business in the first place (I bet that ‘to be in charge of my time’ was up on the list) and set some boundaries. For example, no checking emails after 5 pm and no more overbooking yourself;

• If you have some employees, stop texting them outside work hours unless the building is literally on fire. Respect their personal time and days off and encourage them to switch off whenever they’re not working. If you can implement or keep some working-from-home options even beyond the pandemic, I’d encourage you to do so.

6. Achieve the greenest version of your female-founded business

Personally, I have sustainability at heart and, since you live on my same planet, I hope you do, too. 

Is there any chance that you can make your business more sustainable and ethical, this year?

While this should be a personal responsibility, I’m sure you won’t mind me telling you that 33 percent of customers take sustainability criteria into account when choosing what and who to buy from… and that this trend is only expected to grow!

And this goes beyond a product itself: it’s also about your company as a whole.

7. Make your business website mobile-friendly

Over 60% of all Google searches are performed on mobile: are you really gonna risk a Russian roulette by having an old-style static website that doesn’t adapt to smaller screens?

Instead, implement a responsive layout so that your business website looks just as good and user-friendly on phones as it does on larger desktops.

8. Up your SEO game

Social media and word-of-mouth are still important, but they’re not everything when it comes to attracting new customers.

If you want to be found by people who’ve never even heard of your brand but are looking for the products/services that you offer, you need to make your business website easy to find for the right keywords. 

Simple as that.

Depending on your time, budget and current knowledge, one of your business new year’s resolutions could either be to learn or outsource SEO.

9. Subscribe to relevant blogs

If you want your audience to perceive you as a thought-leading expert in your field and to choose you over your competitors, you must be aware of what’s actually happening in your industry.

An easy way to do so is to subscribe to relevant blogs or Google updates. That way, you can be a step ahead of the game and be sure to write timely pieces of content.

10. Start blogging on your business website

Just like you’d go to other blogs for knowledge, guess what? So do your customers!

Not having a blog on your business website is one of the biggest mistakes you can make, but so is having one that’s all about blowing your own trumpet.

‘We’re delighted to announce…’ 

Well, we’re not delighted to read it. Soz.

Your blog should be a consciously created content marketing strategy where you blog about relevant industry-related topics to educate and entertain your existing audience. 

Even better? To attract new customers! Did you know that websites with blogs generate 67% more leads than those without one?

Plus, having a blog will do wonders for your SEO, since each blog post is a new page that allows you to target a new relevant keyword.

Here are all the benefits of blogging for business.

(Love the sound of it but... not sure where to start? Book a 1:1 session to get started with clarity, confidence, and a proper strategy)

11. Review your website copy

Now that you’ve identified your target audience, realised what problem of theirs you can solve and created a stronger brand, ask yourself: does my current business website reflect all this?

If it doesn’t, now it’s the time to change it.

You have 8 seconds to impress your visitors before they click away. 

Your target customers must be able to immediately find out:

• Who you are/what you sell

• What problem of theirs you can solve with your products or services.

Obviously, your website copy must also be optimised for search engines.

Not sure where to start? Check out my website copywriting services.

There you go: 11 of the best business new year’s resolutions to start these 365 days with a bang.

Found this helpful? Start receiving more tips, advice, and content prompts. My newsletter helps ambitious female entrepreneurs connect with their dream audience through their marketing copy.

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